Amos Yong, with Jonathan A. Anderson. Renewing Christian Theology: Systematics for a Global Christianity (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2014), xxiv + 453 Pps., $49.95.
Amos Yong (Ph.D. Boston University) is Professor of Theology and Mission and director of the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Jonathan A. Anderson is Associate Professor of Art at Biola University. Yong notes that this title is a culmination, of sorts, of his thinking as a Pentecostal theologian, a vocation that was onset in the mid-1990s. It is a summary exposition of the Christian faith and it’s teaching from a Renewal perspective that engages the needs of the contemporary environ. Herein, Yong inverts the order of traditional systematic theology, beginning with the end, and only then working toward the beginning; it should be noted also that whereas the title is based on the World Assemblies of God Fellowship’s Statement of Faith, it similarly inverts the ordering of the WAGF’s creedal statement.
Two features of Renewalist thinking and practices hold promise for renewing Christian theology, according to Yong: 1) The relational encounter with the living Christ through the Spirit which is stressed by adherents, and 2) Starting with the Spirit suggests linking hope with human hearts, which in theology refers to the whole of a human person. He avers that to be eschatological is to be pneumatological and Christological, and hence trinitarian. Further, to be pneumatological is to be eschatological and Christological, and again, trinitarian. He argues additionally that to be Christological is only possible when one is pneumatological and eschatological, or fully trinitarian. So then, a fully trinitarian theology must be pneumatological, Christological, and eschatological. He attempts to be these things in this book. Starting with the Spirit, he nots, requires that we pay attention not only to abstract ideas, but also to desires shaped over time (narratives), feelings (affections), and practices (missional engagement). Theological orthodoxy (right beliefs) is important, but Yong cautions us not to forget the importance of orthopathy (right feelings) and orthopraxy (right behaviors). Renewal spirituality, according to Yong, has the potential to inspire such a triadic reformulation of Christian theology in part due to its pietistic predispositions and pragmatic inclinations.
Each of the eleven chapters are similar in construction: they begin with a short narrative reflection on a Scriptural personage, the goal of which is to explore how Scriptural characterizations provide windows into dogmatic themes; then, the second section, which is generally the longest within the chapter, is composed of locating the historical context of the statement within the WAGF Statement of Faith, providing broader ecumenical perspectives on some of the major elements of the statement from the WAGF, and then sketching some of the contemporary and global issues relevant to understanding the WAGF statement. The third section of each chapter explores the Scriptures in relationship to the WAGF statement under consideration, employing a literary and thematic hermeneutical approach, which avoids proof-texting the Bible. The fourth section of each chapter provides a constructive and biblically informed restatement of the doctrine under consideration, proffers a contextual analysis that addresses some of the specific issues brought out in the second section, and recommends performative applications of what it means to live out the Christian faith in the twenty-first century
Regarding the contents of the volume, after presenting his thoughts regarding the End of Time, he then shifts to discuss the Gifts of the Spirit, Baptism in the Spirit, Sanctification and Holiness, and then the Ordinances and Sacraments of Christianity. Thereafter, Yong moves his discussion to the Church and her Mission, Divine Healing, Salvation in Christ through the Spirit, the Creation and Fall of mankind, the Eternal Godhead, and then finishing up with coverage of the Scriptures. Two appendices are present in the title: a copy of the WAGF’s Statement of Faith, and various Early Ecumenical Creeds. There is a useful glossary of words that may be foreign to non-Renewal minded individuals and newcomers to theology, a comprehensive list of references, a Scripture index, an index of names, and a subject index. For instructors and students, there are discussion questions at the conclusion of each chapter, plus a further reading list.
Those seeking an introduction to systematic theology will not only discover the treasures of the ecumenical tradition herein, but also will encounter a comprehensive theology that brings together pentecostal, charismatic, and evangelical traditions. The whole thrust of this volume is that the Christian tradition has something valuable to gain from engaging especially with Renewal voices and perspectives and may even be revitalized in such a discussion. Renewing Christian Theology unveils an inclusive theology that is conversant with contemporary theology and science, theology and disability, and theology and the arts, and is therefore truly a timely theology for the twenty-first-century church.
Bradford McCall
Holy Apostles College and Seminary